William Byron’s Chevy slid off the track and ended up tilted against the wall, with a tire wedged into Brad Keselowski’s driver-side window during a late battle between two NASCAR playoff drivers.
Ryan Blaney, the 2023 NASCAR champion, didn’t get a chance to collect playoff points. He was knocked out of the race at Watkins Glen International on the very first lap, and his Ford was towed to the garage despite his attempts to continue.
Many playoff drivers like Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., and Harrison Burton faced tough luck on the track, impacting their standings, while fewer drivers managed to get through the race without issues.
Truex, who is set to retire from full-time racing after this season, was frustrated with the aggressive driving he saw. “I just don’t understand how guys can call themselves the best in the world when they just drive through everyone on restarts at the end of the races,” he said. “It is what it is, these days. I’m out of here.”
With many championship contenders dealing with late wrecks, tire issues, and aggressive driving, Chris Buescher took advantage and won at Watkins Glen International. He led a group of five non-playoff drivers to the finish.
“We would have liked to have won a couple of weeks ago, but this is huge,” Buescher said.
The race at Watkins Glen, which is new to the playoffs and will return to an August slot next year, mixed up the playoff standings as the drivers head into the final cutoff race.
Buescher won for the first time this season with RFK Racing, holding off Shane van Gisbergen in the last two thrilling overtime laps. Buescher, who started in 24th place, now has six career wins.
Chase Briscoe, who was 16th in the playoff standings and 21 points below the cutoff, finished sixth and was the top playoff driver in the field for this race. Four drivers will be eliminated from the playoffs on Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.
